What you’ll be able to do

Right, so here’s what this actually gets you. You sat next to your kid, an AI assistant on the screen, and instead of it just spitting out answers, it asks questions back. Like a tutor who’s patient enough to wait, never sighs, never checks their phone halfway through a fraction problem.

You’ll be able to set up an account the right way for your child’s age, get the assistant asking questions instead of giving answers, and match whatever method the school actually uses, because a different method just confuses a child. You’re still in the room the whole time. That’s not optional, by the way. More on that later.

Before you start

The age rules matter here, and they’re not the same across the board, so let’s get this bit straight first.

ChatGPT requires users to be at least 13, or the minimum age set in your country, and if they’re under 18 they need a parent or guardian’s permission. That’s straight from OpenAI’s own terms. Gemini needs a Google Account, and access can be turned off for kids under 13 through something called Family Link, which I’ll get to in a second.

So in practice: if your child is under 13, you use your own account, with them sat next to you. Not theirs. Yours. If they’re 13 to 17, they can have their own account with your permission, and you should link it to yours where that’s possible.

This isn’t caution for the sake of it, it’s what the providers say in their own policies. The actual pages are listed at the end so you can check yourself, because you should, don’t just take my word for it.

Worth knowing too: Khan Academy is free, and it’s a genuinely good resource, but its AI tutor Khanmigo is only sold as a paid parent and learner subscription to US billing addresses (the teacher version is free, in the UK too, so your child’s school may already have it). If you’re a UK parent, don’t go looking to buy it, it’s not available here right now. Worth a mention because people do ask.

Get set up

For under-13s, you don’t need to create anything new for your child. You use your own ChatGPT or Gemini account, and they sit with you. Simple as that.

For teens 13 to 17 with an account of their own, ChatGPT has parental controls: you go to Settings, then Parental controls, then Add family member, and link to their account. Once linked, the teen’s account gets reduced sensitive content by default. You can set quiet hours, switch off voice mode, turn off memory, turn off image generation, and opt them out of having their chats used for model training. One thing worth knowing: you don’t get to see their actual conversations. It’s controls, not surveillance.

Gemini works through a Google Account, and if your child is on a supervised account, Family Link is where you switch Gemini on or off, along with managing app approvals, screen time, and content filters across Chrome, YouTube and Search. It’s the control centre, basically.

Which assistant should you use? Honestly, either ChatGPT or Gemini will do the job for tutoring. ChatGPT has something called study mode, sitting in the tools menu next to the message box on the free plan, and it’s built to ask questions and give hints rather than answers straight out. Gemini has a similar thing called Guided Learning. Pick whichever one you’re already using, or whichever one your teen already has an account on. There’s no need to overcomplicate this bit.

Try it yourself

Before your child even sits down, run a test on your own. See how the assistant behaves. This takes five minutes and saves you a headache later.

Try this, swapping in your child’s actual year group and subject:

You are helping a Year 4 child in England with fractions. I am the parent and I will type. Ask one short question at a time, wait for the answer, and never give the answer straight away; give a hint first. Use the method the school uses: [method the teacher told you]. Keep language simple and warm.

Watch what it does. Does it actually wait, or does it barge ahead and answer its own question? Does the hint feel like a genuine nudge, or does it basically give the answer away anyway? You’ll know within the first two exchanges.

Now try a second one, useful for when you want practice questions rather than a back-and-forth:

Explain long division the way a UK primary school would, step by step, using the [method the teacher told you, e.g. the bus stop method], then give three practice questions on the same skill with different numbers. Do not show the answers until I ask.

This one’s handy on its own, even without the question-and-answer format, because sometimes you just want three fresh practice questions on the same skill and don’t fancy making them up yourself at nine at night.

And a third, for when the school sends home a comment you don’t quite know how to unpack:

Here is a comment the teacher wrote on my child's work: [paste]. Explain in plain words what the teacher wants improved and suggest one small thing we can practise this week.

That last one is for comments like “needs to embed more ambitious vocabulary”, which mean nothing to most parents until someone translates them into something you can practise.

For younger kids, the setup that works best: you read the assistant’s question aloud, your child answers out loud, you type it in. Keep sessions short. Ten minutes, maybe fifteen if they’re really into it. Ask for a story or a little game built around whatever they’re learning, works surprisingly well for things like times tables.

Check the result

So how do you know if any of this is actually working? A few concrete things to check.

First: can your child do the next question alone, without you or the assistant walking them through it? That’s the real test. If they can, brilliant, the tutoring’s landing. If they can’t, something’s off, either the explanation went too fast or it didn’t match how they’re used to seeing it.

Second, get the exercise book out. Compare the method the assistant used against what’s actually written in there. This matters more than people expect. Schools teach specific methods, a particular way of setting out subtraction, a particular phonics scheme, a specific way of structuring a paragraph, and if the AI does it differently, even if the answer’s right, it can properly confuse a child who’s only learned the one way.

Third, and this one’s a bit sneaky but useful: ask the assistant the same maths question twice, in separate messages. Do the answers agree with each other? Then check both against the textbook. If they don’t match, or if either one’s wrong, you’ve caught something before it became your child’s homework.

None of this takes long. A few minutes, honestly, and it tells you a lot.

If it doesn’t work

Right, common problems, because there will be some.

If it gives the answer straight away instead of asking questions: restate the rule in your prompt, plainly, or switch to study mode if you’re on ChatGPT. Sometimes it just needs reminding.

If the explanation goes over your child’s head: tell it the actual school year, not the age. “Year 3” tells it which stage of the curriculum you’re at; “seven years old” doesn’t.

If it’s using a different method from school: name the method directly in your prompt. Don’t assume it’ll guess. “Use the column method” or “use phonics, not whole-word recognition” or whatever your child’s teacher actually told you they use. Ask the teacher if you’re not sure, that’s a perfectly normal question to ask at pickup.

If your child gets frustrated or upset: stop. Just stop the session. This is the important bit. The assistant is a tool. It’s not a tutor who notices a wobbling lip or a sudden silence and knows to ease off. That’s your job, not its.

And a few things worth saying plainly about privacy, because this matters. Never put your child’s name, their school, photos, home address or the teacher’s name into a chat. Don’t upload marked work that’s got names on it, even accidentally, it’s easy to forget a name’s printed at the top of a worksheet. The assistant isn’t a childminder either, so stay in the room, don’t leave your child alone with it thinking that’s the same as supervision.

And this one’s important: it’s not for questions about your child’s health, feelings, friendships or safety. Those go to an actual person. GP, school, or Childline on 0800 1111 if it’s urgent and you need someone right now. An AI assistant has no business being anywhere near those conversations.

One more practical thing: check what your child’s school actually allows when it comes to AI and homework. Policies vary quite a bit between schools, so it’s worth an email if you’re not sure.

Questions people ask

Is ChatGPT safe for kids, and what age do they need to be?

ChatGPT requires users to be at least 13, or the minimum age set in your country, and under-18s need a parent or guardian's permission. If your child is under 13, use your own account with them sat next to you, not an account of their own.

What should I never type into an AI chat about my child?

Never put your child's name, their school, photos, home address or the teacher's name into a chat. Don't upload marked work with names on it, as it's easy to forget a name is printed at the top of a worksheet.

Which AI is best for tutoring my child, ChatGPT or Gemini?

Either will do the job. ChatGPT has study mode in the tools menu next to the message box on the free plan, built to ask questions and give hints; Gemini has a similar thing called Guided Learning. Pick whichever you already use.

How do I set up parental controls for a teenager's AI account?

In ChatGPT go to Settings, then Parental controls, then Add family member, and link to their account. You can set quiet hours, switch off voice mode, memory and image generation, and opt them out of model training, but you won't see their conversations.

How do I check the AI's help is actually working for my child?

Check whether your child can do the next question alone, and compare the method the assistant used against the exercise book, since a different method from school can confuse them. Also ask the same maths question twice and check both answers against the textbook.

Keep exploring

If homework’s the main thing you’re dealing with, there’s a proper guide for that: “How to get AI to help with homework”. If you want the assistant to build a quiz on whatever your child’s revising, there’s “How to get AI to make a quiz”. And if you’re further up the school and staring down an actual exam, “How to get AI to help me study for an exam” covers that ground.

Sources and review notes

Review date: 2026-09-22